OAP Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi Launches Her Shoe Line ‘Gbemisoke’

It a good thing that celebrities are venturing into the world of fashion, Media personality Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi has join the league of celebrities making money in fashion as she shared the wonderful news of launching shoe line ‘Gbemisoke’.

According to her:

Hands up if you were ever taken to Balogun market or any other market as a child to find new school shoes or “Christmas shoes” .
My mom would hold my hand tight and we would go from stall to stall looking for nice shoes.
I did not like the process at all. The market was rowdy , noisy and the shoe seller would always push my feet into the shiny ,patent (and almost always tight) shoes and say “it’s your size ! Fine girl , Fine shoe!”
Meanwhile my poor toes would be crying I also had lovely aunties who lived abroad and they would send me beautiful shoes BUT they never fit! I guess they just never asked what my shoe size was , they would buy the shoes thinking I would “grow into them” not knowing that my feet were “already grown” LOL
When I turned 12, I refused to go shopping with mom for clothes or shoes. I went with friends or my young Aunt Lola. Clothes shopping were a breeze but shoe shopping in Lagos was very annoying and disappointing. There were lots of pretty shoes but they never had my size or they would have a size smaller.
The shoes they had in my size were usually ugly and looked like canoes When I travelled to the U.S for school, one of the things I was extra excited about was going to the mall!
I would spend hours at the mall looking for the perfect shoes.
As usual , finding clothes were easy but shoes were still tough to find.
Many times I would end up buying shoes that were a size smaller all because I liked them and they didn’t have my size . I would stuff my feet in the shoes and endure pain. At least the shoes were pretty When I did find shoes in my size , I would buy them in every color I could find! The hassle of finding cute shoes when you wear a U.S11 in shoes !
It was much easier in the summer because I could buy smaller sizes and get away with them because they were open toe styles or sling backs . The winter months were not funny When I moved back to Nigeria, I faced the shoe issue again. I would go to boutiques and see shoes that were easily $30 in the U.S (N4,000-N4,500 due to the dollar rate at that time) being sold here in Lagos for N20,000!!

I love the fact that Gbemi went for flats, means she has tall people like me in mind when she was designing :D. Congrats Gbemi!

The shoes are available on Jumai & Konga

Follow her on Instagram: @gbemioo

Shoot credit:

Photographer: Tope Horpload

Creative director: Kunbi Oyelese of April by Kunbi.

Facebook: GlamAfricaUK